It's a game of cable round robin.

With the pending merger of Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) and Time Warner Cable Inc. (NYSE: TWC), a number of familiar cable faces are taking on new industry roles. (See Comcast Filings Show Merger Confidence and Comcast-TWC Deal: Playing All the Numbers.)

In the latest news, Charter Communications Inc. and Comcast have announced that current TWC Senior Vice President and Treasurer Matthew Siegel will become chief financial officer of "SpinCo," the placeholder name for the new spin-off company that Comcast plans to create after completing the acquisition of Time Warner and completing the Comcast/Charter transactions.

Siegel has been with Time Warner Cable since 2008, and served as vice president and assistant treasurer at Time Warner Inc. in the seven years prior. Before moving to Time Warner, he was senior vice president of finance and treasurer of Insight Communications.

Siegel isn't the only Insight veteran joining SpinCo. Just last month, Charter and Comcast named former Insight Chief Executive Officer Michael Willner as the new SpinCo CEO. Willner will head up the new company, which will include approximately 2.5 million subscribers spun off from Comcast in the Midwest. (See Charter/Comcast Tap Willner for Spinoff.)

Meanwhile, in other Time Warner Cable news, current CTO Mike LaJoie has confirmed his original plan to retire at the end of 2014. Multichannel News obtained a TWC memo where LaJoie was quoted as saying about his retirement: "Recent events have made this decision more complicated, but after careful consideration, I intend to stay with that plan." LaJoie was referring to the recent death of former TWC CEO and friend Glenn Britt. (See Glenn Britt Dies From Cancer.)

By retiring at only 60 years old, LaJoie is leaving the door open for a possible return to the cable industry in the future. However, with a proposed $16 million payout resulting from the Comcast acquisition, LaJoie will have plenty of financial flexibility even if he chooses to stay in retirement. (See TWC Execs' Prize? A Cool $135M.)

— Mari Silbey, special to Light Reading